Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

PE201IU
Engineering Ethics and Professional 4.1 Rights ethics
Skills (3 credits) 4.2 Duty ethics
4.3 Utilitarianism
4.4 Virtue ethics
4.5 Self-realization ethics
Philosophical ethics

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.1 Rights ethics 4.1 Rights ethics (cont.)

 Rights are moral entitlements and valid moral claims  Rights ethics emphasizes respecting the inherent
that impose duties on other people. dignity and worth of individuals as they exercise their
 All ethical theories leave some room for rights, but the liberty.
ethical theory called rights ethics is distinctive in that  Rights ethics is the most familiar ethical theory, for it
it makes human rights the ultimate appeal. provides the moral foundation of the political and legal
 Human rights constitute a moral authority to make system of the United States
legitimate moral demands on others to respect our
choices, recognizing that others can make similar
claims on us

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.1 Rights ethics (cont.) 4.1 Rights ethics (cont.)

 Human rights have been appealed to in all the major  The notions of human rights and legal rights are
social movements of the twentieth century, including distinct.
– the women’s movement, – Legal rights are simply those the law of a given
– the civil rights movement, society says one has,
– the farm workers’ movement, – whereas human rights are those we have as

– the gay rights movement,

humans, whether the law recognizes them or
not.
– and the patients’ rights movement (in health
care).

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.1 Rights ethics (cont.) 4.1 Rights ethics (cont.)

 Rights ethics provides a powerful foundation for the  The welfare of the public includes:
special ethical requirements in engineering and – the public’s rights to life,
other professions. – rights not to be injured by dangerous products,
 Most engineering codes of ethics enjoin holding
– rights to privacy,
paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public
– rights to receive benefits through fair and
honest exchanges in a free marketplace,
– right to give informed consent to the risks
accompanying technological products

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.1 Rights ethics (cont.) 4.1 Rights ethics (cont.)

 In addition to human rights, there are special moral  Which kinds of rights exist: liberty rights or welfare
rights— rights held by particular individuals rather rights???
than by every human being. – Liberty rights are rights to exercise our liberty,
and they place duties on other people not to
 Contracts and other types of promises create interfere with our freedom  negative rights.
special rights because people have human rights to – Welfare rights are rights to benefits needed for
liberty that are violated when the understandings and a decent human life, when we cannot earn
commitments specified in contracts and promises are those benefits, perhaps because we are
violated severely handicapped, and when the community
has them available - positive rights.

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics 4.2 Duty ethics (cont.)

 Our right to life places  duties on others not to kill us, 1. Do not kill.
 Our right to liberty places  duties on others not to 2. Do not cause pain.
interfere with our freedom. 3. Do not disable.
4. Do not deprive (take away) of freedom.
 Right ethics ↔ duty ethics (Kantian theory). 5. Do not deprive of pleasure.
 Duty ethics give priority to the duties. 6. Do not deceive.
 Duty ethics says that right actions are those required 7. Keep your promises.
by duties to respect the liberty or autonomy (self- 8. Do not cheat.
determination – tự trị/ tự do ý chí) of individuals.
9. Obey the law.
10. Do your duty (work, family, and other special

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics (cont.) 4.2 Duty ethics (cont.)

 All such specific duties derive from one fundamental
duty to respect persons.
 Persons deserve respect because they are moral
agents  to respect for their moral autonomy/ self-
How do we know that these are our duties? determination/ self-governance.

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics (cont.) 4.2 Duty ethics (cont.)

 Immorality occurs when we reduce other people to  We have duties to ourselves
mere means to our ends and needs. – not to commit suicide, which would bring an end
 Ex: murder, rape, and torture (tra tấn) are obvious to a valuable life;
ways of treating people as mere objects serving our – to develop our talents, as part of unfolding our
own purposes. rational natures;
– to avoid harmful drugs that undermine our ability
 Immorality occurs when we merely use persons as to exercise our rationality …
means to our goals, rather than as autonomous agents
who have their own goals.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics (cont.) 4.2 Duty ethics (cont.)

 Duties are universal: They apply equally to all persons.  Moral duties are “categorical (vô điều kiện)
imperatives.”
– As imperatives, they are injunctions or
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto
commands that we impose on ourselves as well
you”; as other rational beings.
or, “Do not do unto others what you would not – As categorical, they require us to do what is
want them to do to you”. right because it is right, unconditionally and
without special incentives attached.

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics (cont.) 4.2 Duty ethics (cont.)

 Kant’s ideas of  Kant conflated (đúc kết) three ideas:
– respect for autonomy, 1. universality—moral rules apply to all rational
– duties to ourselves, agents;
– universal duties, and 2. categorical imperatives—moral rules command

– categorical imperatives have been highly

what is right because it is right; and
influential. 3. absolutism—moral rules have no justified
exceptions.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.2 Duty ethics (cont.) 4.3 Utilitarianism

 Moral reasons are many and varied, including those  Utilitarianism says the sole standard of right action is
expressed by principles of duty. Given the complexity good consequences.
of human life, they invariably come into conflict with  There is only one general moral requirement: Produce
each other  moral dilemmas. the most good for the most people, giving equal
 Contemporary duty ethicists recognize that many moral consideration to everyone affected.
dilemmas are resolvable only by recognizing some  “Utility” is sometimes used to refer to good
valid exceptions to simple principles of duty. consequences and other times to the balance of good
 Thus, engineers have a duty to maintain over bad consequences.
confidentiality about information owned by their
corporations, but that duty can be overridden by the
paramount duty to protect the safety, health, and
welfare of the public.
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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.) 4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.)

 The utilitarian standard seems simple and plausible.  Utilitarianism also seems a straightforward way to
Surely morality involves producing good interpret the central principle in most engineering
consequences— especially in engineering  cost- codes:
benefit analyses “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and
welfare of the public in the performance of their
 Choose proposal which maximizes the overall good. professional duties.”

After all, welfare is a rough synonym for overall good

(utility), and safety and health might be viewed as
especially important aspects of that good.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.) 4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.)

 What exactly is the good to be maximized?  What is the standard for measuring good
 And should we maximize the good with respect to each consequences? Specifically, what is intrinsic good—
situation, or instead with regard to general rules that is, good considered just by itself?
(policies, laws, principles in codes of ethics)?
 Depending on how these questions are answered, 1/ John Stuart Mill believed that happiness was the only
utilitarianism takes different forms. intrinsic good  utilitarianism as the requirement to
produce the greatest amount of happiness.
 What is happiness? Sometimes, Mill confused it with
pleasures and enjoyments (short-term, feel-good
states of consciousness)

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.) 4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.)

2/ Some utilitarians understand intrinsic goods as 3/ Most economists adopt a preference theory:
 those which a reasonable person would pursue,  What is good is what individuals prefer, as manifested
 or those which satisfy rational desires—those that we in what they choose to purchase in the marketplace.
can affirm after fully examining them in light of
relevant information, for example, love, friendship,
appreciation of beauty, in addition to happiness.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.) 4.3 Utilitarianism (cont.)

 We need to decide whether to focus on individual  We need to decide whether to focus on individual
actions or general rules??? actions or general rules???

 Mill believed in act-utilitarianism: A particular action is  Alternative version of utilitarianism that says we should
right if it is likely to produce the most good for the most maximize the good through following rules that
people in a given situation, compared with alternative maximize good consequences, rather than through
options available. isolated actions  rule-utilitarianism right actions are
 Stealing an old computer from an employer. those required by rules that produce the most good for
 Firing several disliked engineers after being
the most people.
blamed for mistakes they did not make.  Rules interact with each other, we need to consider a
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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.4 Virtue ethics 4.4 Virtue ethics

 Character is the pattern of  Virtues are desirable habits or tendencies in action,
– virtues (morally desirable features) and commitment, motive, attitude, emotion, ways of
– vices (morally undesirable features) in persons.
reasoning, and ways of relating to others: competence,
honesty, courage, fairness, loyalty, and humility
 Vices are morally undesirable habits or tendencies:
incompetence, dishonesty, cowardice, unfairness,
disloyalty, and arrogance.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.4 Virtue ethics 4.4 Virtue ethics

 Aristotle (384–322 BC) suggested that the moral  The most comprehensive virtue of engineers is
virtues are habits of reaching a proper balance responsible professionalism  04 categories of
between extremes, whether in conduct, emotion, or virtures:
desire. – Public well-being/ Public-spirited virtues
 Virtues are tendencies to find the reasonable mean
– Professional competence/ Proficiency virtues
between the extremes of too much (excess) and too
little (deficiency) with regard to particular aspects of our – Cooperative practices/ Teamwork virtues
lives. – and personal integrity/ self-governance virtues.
Ex:
revealing all information truthfulness confidentiality
foolhardiness courage cowardice.
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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.5 Self-realization ethics 4.5 Self-realization ethics

 The above ethical theories  considerable room for  Self-realization ethics  gives greater prominence to
self-interest, that is, for pursuing what is good for self interest and to personal commitments that
oneself. individuals develop in pursuing self-fulfillment.
Utilitarianism: self-interest should enter into our  Two versions,
calculations of the overall good;  In a community-oriented version, the self to be
 Rights ethics: we have rights to pursue our legitimate realized is understood in terms of caring
interests; relationships and communities.
 Duty ethics: we have duties to ourselves;  In an ethical egoism version, the self is conceived
 and virtue ethics links our personal good with in a highly individualistic manner.
participating in communities and social practices.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.5 Self-realization ethics 4.5 Self-realization ethics

 The community-oriented version of self-realization  Self-realization ethics points to the highly personal
ethics says that each individual ought to pursue self- commitments that motivate, guide, and give meaning to
realization, but it emphasizes the work of engineers and other professionals.
– The importance of caring relationships and
communities in understanding self-realization.
– We are social beings whose identities and
meaning are linked to the communities in which we
participate

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Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

4.5 Self-realization ethics

 The motives of professionals consists of three
categories:
– Proficiency motives,
Which Ethical Theory Is Best?
– Compensation motives, and
– Moral motives.

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 Chapter 4: Philosophical ethics

Sound ethical theories succeed in meeting these aims:

 First, sound ethical theories are clear and coherent.
 sufficiently clear concepts (ideas) and consistent
various claims and principles.
 Second, sound ethical theories organize basic moral
values in a systematic and comprehensive way.
 highlight important values and apply to all
circumstances not merely to a limited range of examples.
 Third, and most important, sound ethical theories
provide helpful guidance that is compatible with our
most carefully considered moral convictions
(judgments, intuitions) about concrete situations.
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